The Lake Map Database is a comprehensive reference website created with the purpose of cataloging and documenting bathymetric surveys of natural lakes worldwide to benefit those scientists whose research necessitates knowledge of lake basin morphology. By providing both bathymetric maps and bibliographic citations, it is hoped that this website would prove to be a useful source of both current as well as historical information on lake morphometry.

The bathymetric data are presented in three main sections: The HISTORY section catalogs all known comprehensive lake bathymetric surveys by country or sub-region and presents this information in three tabs; 1) About Tab provides an overview of the data; 2) Surveys Tab provides tabular summaries presenting specific details on each survey; 3) Bibliography Tab lists bibliographic references to published bathymetric maps. The tabular summaries may be downloaded as PDF files under the About Tab. The SEARCH section provides two methods for data retrieval; by Morphometry and by Survey. Results of each query can be downloaded in CSV format. The ATLAS section presents atlas-style compilations of bathymetric maps for select regions that can be viewed as low-resolution images. PDF files and KMZ files for these maps can be downloaded directly for most lakes.

If a particular lake is not listed in any section, please check back often as we have maps and data for over 10,000 lakes as well as access to thousands more that have not yet been catalogued. Please CONTACT US if you are interested in obtaining any bathymetric maps, datasets, or KMZ files for use in your project, or would like to inquire about the availability of bathymetric data for a particular lake not listed on our website.

If you would like to contribute any bathymetric data or maps that you might have personally collected or have access to, we would appreciate it if you could fill out the appropriate information in the CONTACT US form.

The compilation of the data presented on this website would not have been possible without the generous contributions and efforts of a vast number of academics and librarians as well as personnel from state agencies, private firms, and lake associations. We appreciate your kindness and generosity.